We usually use IT IS when we talk about the weather. We use:
It is + adjective or It is + verb-ing
For example:
- It is rainy.
- It is raining.
What is the difference?
It is + adjective = A description of the weather
- It is rainy …. it is describing the weather. How is the weather? It is rainy.
It is + verb-ing = This type of weather is happening now.
- It is raining …. What is happening now? It is raining.
Let’s look at more examples of these.
It is + adjective
It is + adjective = A description of the weather
- It is sunny.
- It is cloudy.
- It is windy.
- It is foggy.
Notice how a lot of weather adjectives end in Y: sunny, cloudy, windy, foggy.
But adjectives to describe temperature don’t normally end in Y:
- It is hot.
- It is warm.
- It is cool.
- It is cold.
It is + a + adjective + day
Now let’s look at this again… It is hot.
We can give a little more information by using:
It is + a + adjective + day
Or instead of the word day, you can specify the part of the day like morning, afternoon, night, etc.
- So, It is hot … becomes …
- It is a hot day.
Another example:
- It is cold … becomes …
- it is a cold morning. (Here I specify the part of the day)
See our lesson about how to talk about the temperature in English.
Now let’s look at using the verb-ing to describe the weather.
It is + verb-ing
Remember, this describes the type of weather happening now.
- It is raining.
- It is snowing.
- It is hailing.
These three actions are happening now.
IT IS in different tenses
You can also use it is in different tenses.
For example the past tense, perfect tense, present tense, future tense, etc.
- It was sunny yesterday. (past tense)
- It has been sunny all week. (perfect tense)
- It is sunny today. (present tense)
- It will be sunny tomorrow. (future tense)
Questions about the weather
People commonly ask about the weather by saying:
- How’s the weather?
- What’s it like outside? (What’s the weather like outside?)
- What’s the weather like?
- What’s the temperature?
- What’s the weather forecast?
- What’s the forecast for tomorrow?
Question for you
What is the weather like where you are right now?
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